His Boss Told Him He Was 'Wasted' at Work—So He Pursued His Passion and Built a Company That Sold for $29 Billion
Nick Molnar’s entrepreneurial journey began in Sydney, Australia, growing up around his family’s jewelry business. His parents taught him the fundamentals of retail, shaping his understanding of trade and business from an early age.
Nick Molnar transformed his family jewelry business into Afterpay, pioneering buy now, pay later in Australia. The company sold to Square for $29B.
Nick Molnar
As a teenager, Molnar sold jewelry through eBay and later on a dedicated website for the family business. After college, he initially pursued a career in finance, seeking stability and regular income despite his entrepreneurial instincts.
Applying to investment banking roles, Molnar often faced skepticism due to his jewelry business. Employers questioned why he would seek a job when he already ran a thriving business, prompting him to explore traditional employment instead of entrepreneurship at first.
Molnar joined Australian venture capital firm M.H. Carnegie & Co. in 2011, where founder Mark Carnegie recognized his entrepreneurial potential. Carnegie encouraged Molnar daily about his jewelry sales, which were generating over 2 million USD annually. He challenged Molnar to envision growing the business with a million-dollar investment and offered support to leave the firm while guaranteeing his position for a year.
In 2012, Molnar left venture capital to fully embrace entrepreneurship. He continued his online jewelry business and collaborated with neighbor Anthony Eisen to launch Afterpay in 2014, introducing buy now, pay later services to Australia.
By August 2021, Afterpay had attracted global attention, leading to its $29 billion acquisition by Jack Dorsey’s fintech company Square, later rebranded as Block.
Molnar attributes his initial decision to work a traditional job to the security it provided and the desire to care for his family. Early advice from founders highlighted the risks of new ventures, especially introducing a novel financial service to the market.
Molnar recognized the need for alternative spending options for millennials, who were disenchanted with credit cards. Support from Carnegie gave him the confidence to take the entrepreneurial leap, while his lack of prior failures became a unique advantage.
“I had nothing telling me ‘no,’ I had no past that was giving me muscle memory to say this shouldn’t work,” Molnar reflected. Trusting intuition and surrounding himself with the right support helped him transform a family jewelry business into a global fintech success story.
